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Thursday, 12 October 2017

Blog Tour: Christmas at the Gin Shack by Catherine Miller

Today I am delighted to be on tour with Catherine Miller with her new novel Christmas at the Gin Shack. This follows on from The Gin Shack on the Beach, published in June this year.

The Blurb

Welcome in the festive season with love, laughter and the perfect G&T in Christmas at the Gin Shack – the most uplifting holiday read of 2017!

Gingle bells, gingle bells, gingle all the way…

Olive Turner might have lived through eighty-four Christmases, but she’ll never get bored of her favourite time of year. And this one’s set to be extra-special. It’s the Gin Shack’s first Christmas – and there’s a gin-themed weekend and a cocktail competition on the cards!

But, beneath the dazzle of fairy lights and the delicious scent of mince-pies, Olive smells a rat. From trespassers in her beloved beach hut to a very unfunny joke played on her friends, it seems that someone is missing a dose of good cheer.

Olive knows she’s getting on a bit – but is she really imagining that someone in the little seaside town is out to steal Christmas? More importantly, can she create the perfect gin cocktail before Christmas Eve – in time to save the day?

Thank you to Netgalley and HQ Digital for the chance to review the book, and to Rachel's Random Resources for signing me up to the tour.

Oh Olive, Olive, Olive. Please don't ever get old. I love the way you laugh in the face of adversity - and mobility scooters!

Yes, our intrepid octogenarian is back with a vengeance - and more fabulous gin recipes! This time she's getting ready for Christmas at the Gin Shack, including gin-themed weekends and a gin competition. But again there are obstacles; from the phantom bottom craft-itist (yes, you read that right), adversaries old and new, and old age itself.

It's heartwarming to see how the community of Westbrook Bay rallies around when there are problems. Also it is great to see how some characters from the first book have grown, proving that sometimes leopards can change their spots... or can they?

There are some wonderful laugh-out-loud moments, and Olive's unexpectedly colourful language makes me chuckle, but there are also some more serious moments, too. And nothing is more serious than gin!

This works well as a standalone novel if you haven't read the first one, but why wouldn't you want to read it? It's shaping up to be a great series, and I sincerely hope we haven't seen the last of Olive.

About the Author

When Catherine Miller became a mum to twins, she decided her hands weren't full enough so wrote a novel with every spare moment she managed to find. By the time the twins were two, Catherine had a two-book deal with HQDigital UK. There is a possibility she has aged remarkably in that time. Her debut novel, Waiting For You, came out in March 2016. She is now the author of four books and hopes there will be many more now her twins have started school. Either that, or she’ll conduct more gin research on Olive’s behalf.